November 28, 2012 AT 10:51 am

Tutorial: Tiny Arduino Music Visualizer – The Piccolo !

Here’s an easy-to-build project that really packs a lot of blinkenlight for the effort: a little pocket-size music visualizer we call “Piccolo.”

Set Piccolo next to the telly or some speakers and you’ll see the lights respond to music and sound — lowest notes toward the left end of the graph, highest notes toward the right.

Technically this would be called a “spectrum analyzer,” but as this is not a precision scientific instrument, we’re more comfortable labeling it a “visualizer.” It’s strictly for show.

This intermediate Arduino project shows a clear progression from input to processing and then output in a package that’s appealing and easy for minds to grasp: music and lights. It’s not abstract or “science-y” unless you choose to peel back the layers…